The heat output of laptop computers, personal digital assistants, cellular telephones and the like (more generally, portable electronic products) is a design consideration that has not been afforded adequate attention in many existing product designs. With regard to laptop computers, some casing designs make no attempt to remove heat from the computer. Others have heat distributed through the case so that there are no hotspots, i.e., a plenum holds the heated air within the casing, sometimes ventilated by way of vent holes and/or a fan. Increases in clock speed and the number of transistors used in modern portable electronic products have increased power consumption demands and overall heat output. Further, it is generally desirable to house portable electronic products in small casings, but such casings impose further constraints on effectively dissipating heat from the closely-packed internal components.
There is a need in the art, which heretofore has not been adequately addressed, for a clad casing that promotes efficient heat transfer. Further, there is a need for such a clad casing which promotes efficient heat transfer from the internal heat-generating components which is passive, that is, does not require power. The present invention addresses these and other needs.